MSC to add seasonal call in Pecém, Brazil

The Geneva, Switzerland-based carrier said the seasonal call will be added to its NWC-SAEC I service in August, and will be of particular interest for melon exporters.    Mediterranean Shipping Co. (MSC) said fruit shippers will benefit from a new seasonal call being added at the Port of Pecém to its NWC-SAEC I service between the East Coast of South America and North Europe later this year.
   Pecém is located near Fortazleza in northern Brazil.
   The call will be added from August to February, which MSC said is peak fruit export season.
   MSC said the seasonal call at Pecém will start in week 32 of 2017, at the beginning of August, and will stop during week five of 2018, at the end of January.
   The port call “will be of particular interest for exporters of melons,” MSC said. “Main destinations for this commodity, and other fruits exported on this route are Rotterdam and other ports in North Europe.”
   In the first 11 months of 2016, Pecém exported 184,751 tons of fruit.
   Ocean carrier schedule and capacity database BlueWater Reporting shows the NWC-SAEC I currently operates with seven ships averaging 5,689 TEUs.
   Pecém will be the final port called on MSC’s loop before ships in the rotation sail to Europe. With the addition of the new call, the revised rotation will become: Pecém, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Hamburg, Bremerhaven, Le Havre, Sines, Rio de Janiero, Santos, Paranaguá, Navegrantes, Santos, Rio de Janiero, Salvador and Pecém.